Finally!! Some pictures!!!

Sorry that it has taken so long to get some pictures up. We've been asked by a lot of you and we have feel horrible that we didn't get this to you sooner. Between the new baby and the new house... the last month has been a blur.

Here are some of the pictures from our first trip to Russia in December 2007. To get a caption describing the picture, scroll your mouse over the pic.:

We're Home!!!

I know this is a very long post, but we have officially been christened into parenthood..

Where to start...My new family is home safe and sound. Of course there were a few bumps along the way, but what would a story be with out a "grand finale". The morning started out great, A.J. slept for 12 hours the night before we left. He must of know his world was about to be rocked upside down. R.J. and I were so excited to becoming home we were up, showered, packed, and ready an hour before our scheduled pickup time. For those of you that know me I am always 10 minutes late for everything. Not this time!!! It was nice to just have some time to play with A.J before we had to leave.

In the short time that we have had him he stays awake in the mornings for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours before he goes down for his morning nap. The plan was to keep him awake, and then let him crash on the plane. He did great waiting for our plane to leave with all the stimulation in the airport. While we waited to board the plane A.J. also played with the children of the adopted families that were on our flight.

We boarded the plane, and were right on schedule, I gave A.J. his Motrin for his ears, the bottle was prepped, we pulled away from the gate...Yeaah we were off, but the plane just sat there...A.J. started to squirm...he had seen the bottle...I had to give it to him...not a problem we would surely start to move, but we just kept sitting...something was wrong...we had to be towed over to the mechanic garage something was not right with one of the engines. This is always great news to hear right before you are getting ready to travel for a very long time (11 hours and 25 minutes, with an infant to be exact!!).

An hour later the engine was fixed and we finally took off, the bottle was finished, and A.J. was sleeping peacefully in my arms...not for long!!! I'd say a half hour into the flight he was wide awake. Let me just say it was a "great flight"...NOT!!! Whoever said the bulk head seats on a plane are the best to sit in with an infant must be crazy. In my opinion they are the worst. The armrest don't fold up. So the only place to lay the little guy to sleep was in our arms or on the floor. The large screen for watching the in flight movies is directly over head - great stimulation for a child that has been in the orphanage since birth, and everyone that has to use the bathroom passes your seats. We could not have had a more busier spot on the plane. Of course people in passing have to ask if he was adopted, and they smile, wave at him, and make funny faces and noises. This is certainly not a calming environment for a child that is trying to sleep!

We did a pretty good job of entertaining him, but after 4 1/2 hours of R.J. and I he was over it, and he was not shy about letting us, and everyone else on the plane know that he was done. R.J. took him for a little walk down the aisle and I figured that all was good they didn't come back for a while. The next thing I know R.J. is telling me to come quickly he doesn't know what to do with him. So now we are both at the back of the plane in the flight attendants galley, and A.J. is exercising his vocal cords quite nicely!! Let's just say that we were "THAT FAMILY" with the screaming baby on the plane. Being that we have never had kids before we have always despised "that family", and now have so much more compassion for them. When you are in this situation you are so helpless - there is no where to go, and we still had 6 1/2 hours of flight time. Luckily I am a person that thinks quickly on their feet - the bathroom!! At least the screaming would be somewhat contain, and the stimulation would be next to nothing. I won't go into details, because what happens behind close doors, stays behind closed doors, but I will say for such a little guy his has the will of a small village.

An hour later A.J. and I come out of the bathroom, him wearing just his onesie and sleeping peacefully in my arms. I guess it is true what they say about being a parent - you will do anything for you child. If you are anything like myself, the less time you spend in a airplane bathroom the better, and you all know what I am talking about - they are gross - the longer flight to worse they get.

A.J. slept for about 3 hours and then he was back up again. He did pretty good the rest of the flight and fell back to sleep again the last hour. Why is it right before you are ready to land children go to sleep.

We were late getting into Atlanta so lucky we breezed through customs, and were able to make our connecting flight to Tampa with about 10 minutes to spare. This was a little closer than I had planned but at least we made it. A.J. could barely keep his eyes open through customs, and I just knew as soon as we would get on the plane he would crash, catch a hour nap, and be wide eyed and ready to meet his Mamaw and Pop. Like I said this is a very strong willed little boy.

The flight to Tampa was a shorten version on our flight from Moscow to Atlanta - we only had to spend about 10 - 15 minutes on the bathroom on this leg of our journey. This is only after some screaming, and kicking the back of the seat in front of us. I do have to give him credit, he is a very smart little boy...he quieted down right away when we walked into the bathroom.

Again, what is it with children and falling a sleep right before you land. After all the time he was awake, and for as long as he fought sleeping he just couldn't last to the end. I kid you not the landing gear was down, and we were minutes away from landing when he zonked out. So of course after the headache we had been through he wasn't going to get to sleep through meeting his Mamaw and Pop. Again, let me just tell you he is a very strong willed little boy. I did everything I could to try and wake this child up, but no such luck! He was in such a deep sleep I even check to make sure he was still breathing.

So, all in all, even though our flight was pure "hell" one really good thing came out of A.J only sleeping about 6 hours in a 24 hour time period. He was so tired he slept straight through to the next morning, and has adjusted to our time change with no problem. I had envisioned being up a lot in the early morning hours, but we have been spared. I guess he figured we were christen enough for the moment and he should give us a small break since we are first time parents.

I Love Being A Mommy...

Well, let me just say this is awesome!!! Sorry I haven't posted since we have been in Moscow, but everything is soooo expensive here. Let just say it just about killed R.J. to pay $25 for a one cheeseburger, fries and a small single size serving bottle water!

Everything is going as scheduled. We are going to the US Embassy today at 2:00pm to pick up Lil' Man's visa and we are out of here tomorrow at 1:00pm. I am not looking back. Yesterday A.J. had his medical exam and the doctor was not what I was expecting when I opened the hotel door. His doctor had a handle bar mustache, that was curled up at the ends, and was wearing a very shaggy fur coat??!!! What's up with that? He said A.J. would kill all the girls with his smile, and he must have been a favorite at the orphanage, because he was a very good size for his age. He also told me that I need to stand my ground and not give into his whimpering, that he will test me to see what he can get away with. He has never had this much attention at one time. I sort of thought this to myself, but with everything I have read about the "abandonment issues" and everything I wanted him to feel comfortable. I have been sticking to my grounds and things are falling into place. I don't thin A.J appreciated the doc selling him out and messing up his gigi.

Well, I need to run and I will post more when we are back in Tampa. At least then may be I can afford his college if I don't spend it all here in Moscow. I will also post some pictures too. I know alot of you are dying to see his lil' face and now that he is ours I can post away. Thanks to everyone for all you thoughts and prays - see you in Tampa....

Good Night's Sleep

Patience is downstairs with A.J., so she let me come and give a shot at this blogging thing.

We got our little boy yesterday at about noon (that's about 2:00am EST) Novgorod time. It realy went without a lot of fanfare. I don't know what exactly we expected, but basically the director came out, told us congratulations and that she was very happy for us and recommended we try to keep him on his schedule (yeah right). Then we sat down for a bit and another woman came and asked us for his clothes and took them off. She was quite perturbed that we didn't bring any pampers with us. We're new at this a didn't know what size he. She took off and about 10 minutes later, the in-house doctor brought him down to us and handed him to Patience. She gave him a big hug and a kiss, we got our picture taken and then we were off. It kind of reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner. You spend so much money on the food, so much time preparing it, and then "BAM!!!" it's over and time to clean up the mess (ie dirty diapers in this case).

I guess I thought that there would be a procession or something... oh well, we'll save that for when he decides to run for President. Yes, I'm grooming him for that after the first 24 hours. I thought that if Arnold can be the Governer of California, then surely he has a chance for President. :) Nobody has to say it, I know that it would require a constitutional amendment... I think it will happen by the time he's ready. Trust me, I still have my grandfathers Reagan button that I wore at 5. He'll look good in it.

The night went well, little dude fell asleep about 8:30pm and slept until 5:30am. We were pretty happy with that. Considering the fact that his whole life (15 months is an eternity to him) has been turned upside down, we were more than pleased. We were selfish and didn't let him sleep in his crib. We put him right between us and both of us touched him all night. I do believe that he was partially annoyed and partially comforted by it. We'll worry about getting him trained right when we get home. He is a good baby boy.

We leave for Moscow today and will be there for two days for a doctors examination and to get his Visa. On Saturday, we FINALLY get to come home. I'm a little worried that his Mamaw and Pop might squeeze the begeezus out him when we get off the plane. Oh well, I guess that they deserve... and I'm sure he'll be fine.

Thank you all for your great posts to our blog. When no one else speaks your language, you start to go stir crazy after a week. It's so comforting to know that people are thinking of us at home and have sent so many positive thoughts our way. It's really neat to hear from some of you that I haven't spoke with in so long. THANK YOU!!!

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to keep everyone up to speed. I gotta run to go get AJ's passport. TAKE CARE!!

Today's the Day!!

Well, the great computer caper was solved and the documents were printed and taken to passport office. In about two hours we are going to get our baby boy!! YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I just really can't believe that it is actually happening. Last night was our last night of uninterrupted sleep for a while, but I was so excited that I kept waking up about every hour. I guess the body has a way of telling you that a storm is coming.... maybe something more like a hurricane. Whatever, bring it on!! R.J. was up at 5:00 am and made me finally get out of bed to go get breakfast at 7:00. He is trying to be more cool and in control, but I know that he is equally, if not more, excited than I am. If that can really be possible.

Last night was fun. We went to dinner with two other families that are here adopting. In a big group, we decided to take a cab and go out for dinner. We had a great time. One was a single woman from D.C. (Andrea) who is adopting a two year old, which will be her second one from Russia. She says that it is a lot more difficult process today than it was 3 years ago. The other couple is from Tallahassee, FL and they are adopting 3 brothers (ages 5, 8 & 12.. I think). Their names are Richard and Jodi. All are really nice people and we had a great time sharing stories.

We are on our way to the grocery store to pick up food and juice for A.J.. We also have to get a crib up to the room for RJ to sleep in, since A.J. will be taking his spot in the bed. (HA HA.. Nobody tell RJ what my plans are, all of his buddies with kids have warned him already, so I think he already knows). Everything is great!! We are so fortunate!! We will be home soon and can't wait to see everyone.

WE PASSED!!!

It's official... We are the proud parents of Alexander Julian Wood. That is provided the judges computer starts working and she can print out our documents... Pretty funny, huh.

Court went great. Our translators and coordinators prepared us well and everything went through without a hitch. It lasted about one hour and there was really no drama at all. At least until we were told this afternoon that the judge needs to print out the approval documents and unfortunately her computer has crashed (or something like that). Anyway, we are hoping everything comes through soon, so that we can get the paperwork, pick up A.J. and go apply for his passport so we can get on a train back to Moscow on Wednesday night.

Funny story (you have probably learned that I like to do this)! As I told you last night, I was the first speaker and had about twice as much to tell the judge as R.J. did. So I got up there and did my thing... then R.J. got up and did whatever it is that he does. :) After court, our coordinator came up to R.J. and I and just raved about how great I did and how impressed he was with my presentation to the judge. R.J. kind of cleared his throat hoping to get some props himself. The coordinator said... "You R.J...... were really tall when you stood up". He said the judge giggled at how tall he was. R.J. has just been beside himself all afternoon (imagine the extended version of the pinched lip--most of you know what I'm talking about) and I have not been able to stop laughing. My husband, who speaks regularly in front of large groups of people, can only get a compliment on his height. He's talking about sending me back to work and he will just stay at home with A.J. and be tall. I guess that may be his first lesson in humility as a parent. I'm sure that there will be many more to come for us both. I LOVE MY REALLY "TALL" HUSBAND SO MUCH!!

We still aren't sure when we get to get A.J.. It's been said tonight... tomorrow... or Wednesday. I really think that it will be tomorrow. We both can't wait.

We Have Court Tomorrow

On Monday morning at 8:00am, the court appointed translator will be meeting us at our hotel room to go over the statements we will be making at our 10:00 court appointment tomorrow (that's at 2:00am EST). We were coached today by our Franks Adoption coordinator and our Franks translator and given a script of what we were to cover. GUESS WHAT?? We're the first family that Franks has had go through the court in this region. They are confident that they have everything in order and we certainly are praying that they are correct.

Both R.J. and I have to make a statement to the court. Mine has over 52 points and R.J.'s has about 30 (I guess I better get used to having more responsibility). It covers everything from explaining that we understand the court process, to why we want to be parents, to the fact that we will treat A.J. no different from any biological child. I have to describe why I want to be his mother... Hopefully I won't tear up. As I've practiced it with R.J., my eyes start watering. I really believe that this is the last BIG hurdle in bringing our baby home. Tonight, we do ask that everyone say one last big prayer for us!

Once court is complete, we still are not yet sure when we get to take custody of him. It will be somewhere between Monday evening and Wednesday morning. We both feel very anxious to be able to hold him whenever we want, rather than the one-hour increments we've been able to see him each day since we have been here.

Speaking of that, we went to see him today. Weird thing.... There is nothing this kid won't lick!! Everything he touches... toys, zippers, watches, carpet, walls... he has to lick. I'm not talking the run-of-the-mill put it in your mouth. It's a full-blown tounge-out lick!! I can't wait until he gets home with the dogs, cats and duck.... not sure how they will respond to being licked... they're the ones that are used to doing that to us. Then again, they will all love it and they will love their new brother!

WARNING!!! He is a very busy little boy. He will not let go of his toys as he crawls across the room. He would crawl on one hand and one elbow. R.J. said he looked like Snoop Dog struttin' with a gangsta lean. We called it the Gangstsa crawl. VERY FUNNY STUFF.

That's all for tonight. We are going back to the room to go over our statements one last time. Take care!!

Special Thanks!

This is overdue, but I believe that those of you who know my schedule over the last week will certainly understand. I finally have a few minutes and wanted to give a special thank you to some extremely important people. (Can you believe that, I had to come to Russia to get some free time)

Last week, I had two wonderful baby showers thrown for A.J.. The first one was Saturday and it was hosted by my mother-in-law, Jane and one of my very best friends Raquel. We had it at Jane's house and it was just so beautiful. One of the games that we played was that everyone had to offer an interesting childhood story or piece of motherly advice... well just say that we really hope that A.J. doesn't have blue mohawk when he grows up, but at least now we will know how to deal with it (you know who you are that offered this one). It's comforting to know that whatever crazy stage he will go through, he will still turn out to be a wonderful person. Oh yea, Raquel, RJ is so greatful for those strawberry cupcakes. He thought that you had "lost that loving feeling" for him. Thank you to mom, Rocky and everyone who attended.

On Sunday, my neighborhood girlfriends hosted another shower for AJ. Our gracious hosts were Patty (thank you for the use of your house), Kippy, Sharon & Colleen. It seemed like EVERYONE in the neighborhood was there. We sat on the patio and enjoyed each others company and shared stories about how to be a good parent (I have some very tough acts to follow). I am sure of one thing... AJ isn't going to get away with anything in our neighborhood. There are going to be a lot of people looking out for his well-being. WHAT A LUCKY, LUCKY BOY!! (at least until he gets old enough to get into trouble). It was a great day and just really made this journey that much more special knowing how many people care about us. Thank you girls!!

To everyone who shared your time with us and offered such wonderful presents, thank you. RJ and I feel so blessed to have many people that care about us. It's been a lot of fun sharing the expansion of our family with you.

On another note, for those of you who didn't think we had enough on our plate already... we bought a new house that is aroung the corner from our current house, because we needed more room for all of the new toys. We close and move into the new house on the Wednesday after we get back from Russia. In the midst of preparing for our trip and finalizing AJs adoption, we needed to pack. So who came to my rescue, but more of my wonderful friends and family. Last Tuesday, Denise, Amy, Robin, Kara and Mom all came to the house to help me pack. These girls are amazing and packed up the whole house in 5 1/2 hours (with a lunch break). So, all of our stuff is now in boxes and waiting to be moved. Mom is really happy about our current living arrangement because it means that AJ, RJ & I will be staying at her house for a few days when we get back. Her and Pop planning on having a great big slumber party. I don't think this kid is going to be spoiled at all... do you???

Again, thank you to everyone!!! We miss you and can't wait to get home with our little man so he can give you all a great big hug (and probably some snot boogers).

Todays Adventure...

Today was a great day...we were able to spend time with A.J. He is just as wonderful as I remember, and such a happy lil' guy even though he has a pretty bad cold. He is not walking yet, which was something I was hoping would happen. This way R.J. and I will get to experience his first steps. With some help he is attempting to take a couple of steps, and then he drops to his knees - much easier to crawl. He is a fast little bugger when he is crawling. I'm sure once he does start to walk he will run everywhere. I will definitely have my work cut out for me.

We have noticed that he loves toys that make all the crazy noises. For those of you that have been waiting to pay us back for all the annoying noise making toys we have bought for your children, our pay back is not too far off. The louder and crazier the sounds the more A.J. likes it. He also enjoys being tickled!! His whole face lights up, and it just makes you laugh along with him. I shared with A.J. that we will have a lot of fun...we'll send dad to work and he and I will play all day!! He laughed and RJ pinched his lips!! Exactly what I was hoping for.

I can't wait until he is ours forever. Since he has a cold, or it may have been close to nap time, he seemed a bit tired. He was so cute when he was sitting with R.J., he just wanted to be touched and held. R.J. was rubbing on his ears and he seemed to really like it, almost to the point his eyes had a gaze of relaxation. He also liked his head to be rubbed. Everyone knows when you don't feel well having someone rub your head makes everything better.

Tomorrow we will have court preparation and get to go back to the orphange to spend more time with him. It was very hard leaving him today. I wish I could have brought him back to the hotel with us and just hold and rock him. Just a few more days!!

We're Here & Safe

We just wanted to give everyone a quick note to let you know that we are here, in Novgorod. It was about a 30 hour trip from our doorstep to our hotel, which we got to last night about midnight, local time (about 4:00pm at home). Like all trips to countries where you don't speak the language, there certainly were some challenges... One of the best was on the train. R.J. went to the bathroom, but didn't pay attention to what sleeping car we were in. Well... to make a long story short, all of the cars look the EXACT same... see where I'm going here. After about 20 minutes, I am just starting to get concerned, when I hear an innocent and softly spoken, "Patience, Patience, Patience", desperately seeking me. I was able to rescue this lost puppy. :) I don't think I've ever seen him so greatful to see me before and his look of relief was priceless. GOOD TIMES!!!

We are getting picked up in about 20 minutes to go see A.J. for the first time since our arrival. We are both so very excited.

Our week will go pretty much like this:

Today (Saturday): Visit with A.J.

Sunday: Visit with A.J.

Monday: Court @ 10:00am, Novgorod Time

Tuesday: File all final paperwork with Ministry of Education and Orphanage. Hopefully, we will get to take custody of him that afternoon/evening.

Wednesday: If we haven't received custody of him yet, we'll get him this morning. In the afternoon, we are on a train back to Moscow.

Thursday: A.J. gets a medical examination in Moscow and we go to the US Embassy in Moscow to apply for a passport and visa for him.

Friday: Pick up all travel documents and pack for home.

Saturday: If all goes as planned, our flight leaves at 1:00pm (Moscow) to head home. We arrive in Tampa at about 8:45pm on Saturday night.

Keep your fingers crossed and your prayers coming that everthing works out OK. Thank you sooooo very much to all of you at home, who have helped us, and passed on so many wonderful well-wishes. RJ and I are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.

We've got to run to go see our baby!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Any plans for Valentines Day? We are going to Russia!! I know everyone has been patiently, or not so patiently, waiting for our travel dates. It's official, we will be leaving February 14 and returning February 23. I am so excited I could POP!! I can't wait to hold our lil' man and make him laugh and giggle!!